BISMARCK — A federal jury in Bismarck convicted a former Three Affiliated Tribes police officer of excessive force and obstruction charges Tuesday.

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Lindrith Tsoodle, 58, was convicted in U.S. District Court of one felony count and one misdemeanor count of using excessive force on persons in his custody in November and December 2010.

Tsoodle was convicted of twisting the neck of a handcuffed suspect, throwing him to the ground and kneeing him in the abdomen. He also was convicted of, on a separate occasion, excessively tightening handcuffs of an arrestee, slamming him against the wall, using pepper spray and striking him with his hands and a baton. In both incidents, the suspects were restrained and not posing a threat to the officer, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

Tsoodle also was convicted of making false statements to a federal officer and was acquitted of tampering with a witness, the Justice Department said.

He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years for the felony excessive force conviction, a maximum of one year for the misdemeanor and a maximum of five years for the false statements conviction.

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